Understanding The Refugee & Displacement Experience

April 2023

UNHCR INNOVATION HAS NOTED THAT, “REFUGEES ARE NOT THE CRISIS. IT'S THE NARRATIVES WE TELL ABOUT THEM."

SO WE ASKED SOME MEMBERS OF THE SPORT TOGETHER FUND DELIVERED BY BEYOND SPORT EXPERT ADVISORY GROUP A QUESTION: WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU WANT THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO KNOW AND BETTER UNDERSTAND ABOUT PEOPLE WITH REFUGEE AND DISPLACEMENT EXPERIENCES? 

HERE'S WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY:

Dr. Soolman Abooali, Professional Athlete & George Mason University Professor

Refugees are not cowards for leaving our home countries and seeking a new life in a new country. We are educated, hardworking and motivated to live a life with basic human rights and opportunities, the absence of which is often the atrocity that took away our choices in the first place.

Kat Craig, Human Rights Lawyer & Athlead Founder

We've been misled into believing there is a crisis caused by people arriving on our shores, conveniently being asked to forget what our role as a country has been in creating the conditions causing people to flee. We're being told that hotels and hostels are full, costing us millions every day, while never being told that these conditions are manufactured by a government whose immigration system has ground to a halt, because the government has completely stopped making asylum decisions creating an unprecedented backlog of claims, and then weaponised that electorally.

What we're not being told is how people arriving here are desperate to work, and willing to do jobs that are currently unfilled because Brits are reluctant to do them. Or, that among those arriving in the UK there are highly qualified and skilled workers (current and future) who could solve some of this country's major crises, including how we balance out an ageing population with an active workforce. In short, this crisis is manufactured for political gain, at the cost of thousands of lives, at the cost of our values as a nation, at the cost of our legal international obligations and at the cost of our own futures.

Lam Joar, Olympic Refuge Foundation Think Tank Board Member

If there is one thing I want the world to know is that Refugees flee their homes as a result of circumstances that are beyond their control. They are given the label "Refugee" by people who do not want to welcome them with open arms but rather want them to look different so that they can exploit them. If those on the receiving end are kind, no one should be classified as a refugee, but rather new friends, neighbours, in-laws, etc.

People should understand from then wealthy nations, Ukraine, Syria, Iraq and other nations that being a refugee has nothing to do with being poor, not intellectually smart or having made wrong life choices in the past.

Carine Nkoue, UEFA Foundation Project Specialist

First of all, refugees are people like us, with names, emotions, diverse backgrounds, cultures, skills, aspirations and dreams. They had a life. We have tendency to use the refugees terminology and forget the human being behind it. We have to see them differently than “just” refugees.

They have been forced to leave their home and then when arrive in host countries, are facing many other challenges – language barriers, cultural differences, limited access to education, employment opportunities, discrimination and prejudice. But instead of seeing them as a burden, we should see as an asset which can enrich the host country by bringing new perspectives, skills and experiences.

Adnan Abdul Ghani, Save the Children Migration Expert

One essential thing that the general public should understand about people with refugee and people with displacement experiences is that they are individuals with unique stories, skills and aspirations, just like anyone else. They can benefit their host communities and beyond, given the right opportunities and support.

They are not a burden or a threat to society and should not be treated as a monolithic group or reduced to stereotypes. They are individuals who have been forced to flee their homes due to crises beyond their control. They are not only victims! They are survivors and deserve dignity, respect and support as they rebuild their lives.

Esther Jones Russell, Refugee Legal Support Trustee

The most fundamental thing is that refugees and asylum seekers are, first and foremost, people. Anyone can be a refugee; anyone might one day need to seek asylum. We are being overwhelmed with scare stories to dehumanise and imply that we are all in competition with one another. It is not - and never needs to be - us versus them.

To show empathy and humanity is something each of us can and should do, whether that’s campaigning against cruel and oppressive policies and narratives or opening up our sports clubs to provide refugees and asylum seekers with a welcoming community.

Nick Sore, UNHCR Senior Refugee Sports Coordinator

The first thing to recognize is that nobody chooses to be a refugee. We should never forget that refugees are people, just like you and me, your neighbour, your best friend or work colleague. They are fellow human beings who have suffered tremendously. They have had what we all have; a home, daily routine, safety, security, community, but were forced to leave it all, literally running away to save their and their family’s lives. But refugees, like all other human beings have hopes and dreams and skills that can help them to achieve them.

My ask and that of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency is that the general public understand and celebrate refugees' strength and courage, and recognize that:

Whoever they are, people forced to flee should be treated with dignity. Anyone can seek protection, regardless of who they are or what they believe. It is non-negotiable: seeking safety is a human right.

Wherever they come from, people forced to flee should be welcomed. Refugees come from all over the globe. To get out of harm’s way, they might take a plane, a boat or travel on foot. What remains universal is the right to seek safety.

Whenever people are forced to flee, they have a right to be protected. Whatever the threat – war, violence, persecution – everyone deserves protection. Everyone has a right to be safe.
For anyone interested in learning more, I encourage them to visit UNHCR’s website.

Gerald Mballe, Special Olympics Advisor - Unified With Refugees (Italy)

I think it is still strongly needed to emphasize the fact that refugees are also human beings. Behind all the numbers there is blood, flesh, stories, dreams, feelings and much more. But at the look of things, I have the feeling that this understanding is still missing. Refugees and displaced people are much more than victims. Nobody lives in their country and risks their life traveling in terrible conditions in the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean if it is not urgent.

The general public needs to understand that if refugees and displaced people are provided with the necessary facilities or tools, they can contribute massively to their hosting societies. All they need to be able to do is get up every morning with a purpose, with easy access to a good education and to be part of the labor market. Empower them with the right tools so that they can regain their self-esteem and believe in themselves again because refugees or displaced individuals once had careers. They were experts in their fields and still have dreams despite the series of mental health issues and traumas they might have faced due to a series of horrific scenes of violence they were forced to see.

Refugees are human beings with skills, talents, aspirations and the ability to make change if we stop seeing them as a burden. If you release the tools that would enable them to rebuild their own lives, believe me, entire nations and economies could thrive. Let's dismantle daily barriers in all aspects of socioeconomic and civic participation and ensure all refugees have a fair chance at winning a new life. Refugees are not just humanitarian aid, such as food, blankets, allowances and more welfare benefits.

The western narrative often reduces refugees or displaced individuals to victims, and I believe it is the right time for this misconception about refugees to be abolished definitely. They are more than just numbers, more than just that poor kid in a poor neighborhood in Africa suffering or devastated by climate change or something else. They are way beyond just that suffering.

Refugee stories should not be heard just to suit our agenda. Let us give the power of narratives to provide the right space for one of the most marginalized groups of this era to take the stage and do something for themselves, advocate for themselves, and not the contrary.

My message is not directed at policymakers, institutions that dominate the world of refugees and displaced people or governance, but it is a message to all human beings.

Beyond Sport co-designed the Sport Together Fund with an Expert Advisory Group of activists, practitioners, athletes, researchers and individuals with lived refugee experiences. 

The Fund directly supports initiatives using sport to tangibly improve the lives of people experiencing displacement and resettlement. It also supports the transit and host communities where people are rebuilding their lives. Click here to learn more and support.